Legacies
by MrsBeck1208
Summary: A few years Post 513, Joan sees Brian and Justin with Gus and sets off a reaction Brian could never have imagined.


"Dad, why is that lady over there staring at us?"

Brian and Justin both turned around, ready to do what they could to shield Gus from yet another homophobe intent on spouting off with his or her unsolicited opinion and thus ruining their afternoon at the museum. What they saw shocked them both silent instead.

"Dad? Justin?" Gus didn't worry easily. He'd grown up with gay parents. If he worried about every little thing people said or every funny look he got, he'd have never made it past the second grade. But to see both of his fathers dumbstruck in public over some gray haired old woman? Now that was cause for concern!

Justin recovered first. "Sorry, Gus. Why don't we go over there and I'll show you my favorite Van Gough?"

"Okay." Gus knew something was up, but let Justin lead him away from the strange old woman.

Brian watched them walk away before turning to her.

"Brian, who is that boy?" Her tone was sharp and unpleasant. Brian wanted to turn and run, but he'd never give her the satisfaction.

"Mother. I didn't realize they sold bibles or sherry at the Cargenie Museum of Art." He dropped the sarcasm and went for menacing. "What are you doing here?" The last thing he wanted was for her to know about Gus.

"I'm here," she managed to draw the word out a few extra syllables, "for a special exhibit on religious works. It's only here for the summer. Several of the women at church viewed it last week and said it was wonderful, so I decided to see it for myself." As always, she managed to clutch at the cross that hung from her neck. Brian resisted the urge to strangle her with it.

"How nice for you. Well, wouldn't want to ruin your viewing pleasure, see ya." He started to stalk off when she stopped him.

"That boy."

"His name is Justin, mother. You'd think after all these years you could at least remember his name." Brian hoped he could distract her by getting her angry.

"Not him." She huffed, annoyed. "The young boy."

'Shit.' Brian thought. 'She heard Gus call me Dad.'

"Why did he call you Dad?"

"Maybe because I am his father?" He ground out. Brian was walking a fine line between pissed off and scared as hell. He never wanted Joan Kinney to know his son and now here they were in the same place.

"And his name is Gus?" Brian just nodded.

"Is his last name Kinney?"

"What the fuck?" Brian asked, surprised that this would be her next question. "Gus is not up for discussion. You stay the hell away from him!" Brian hissed. They were beginning to attract attention from the other museum patrons. It was time to leave. "I mean it. You are not a part of my life or his. You gave up that right when you told me God gave me cancer to punish me for being gay."

Joan still looked shocked, but Brian noticed that it seemed like there was something else to it. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he wasn't going to stand there and try to figure it out either. He left to find Justin and Gus and get the hell out of the museum. They'd have to find something else to do for the rest of their Boy's Day Out.

Weekends had fallen into a rather domestic routine. One weekend a month, the girls kept both kids. One weekend each father kept their child giving Melanie and Lindsay a weekend alone. The other two weekends varied according to schedules, but Gus was spending more and more of those weekends with Brian and Justin. They'd often set aside at least one day each weekend as a Boys Day Out. It was strictly a Fun Day and they each took turns picking the day's activities such as museums or parks. There was shopping, too, as only Gus could convince Brian to go to a mall on a Saturday or eat at a food court. Justin made sure he had his cell phone charged and ready to go on those days so he could get pictures as proof (and blackmail). They had even made trips out to Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob to indulge Brian's interest in architecture and Gus's love of all things outdoors. Justin had some beautiful paintings hanging in galleries around Pittsburgh and New York as a result of those trips, too.

It was a toss up as to who enjoyed those days the most. And now Joan Kinney was here invading one of their special days. Brian was beside himself with both anger and worry.

Brian collected Justin and Gus and suggested they finish their day with take out and DVDs. Justin was anxious to get Brian alone so he could ask about the encounter with Joan. Gus, however, didn't wait. At the house, as soon as they settled down with their pizza, Gus tackled the really big question.

"So who was that lady in the museum?" Brian and Justin shared a look before Brian answered.

"That woman was my mother, Gus."

"Really?" Gus sounded excited and intrigued. "How come I've never met her before?"

'Because she's an evil bitch and I don't want her poisoning your young mind.' Brian thought.

"Because she isn't a part of my life and I really don't want her to be a part of yours." Brian answered.

"How come?"

"Gus, Joan has some very…" Brian paused trying to find the right words. "Narrow views about what is right and wrong in life. She feels that being gay is wrong. I think you're smart enough to see how that could be a problem in our family."

"Duh!" Gus exclaimed and they all laughed.

Gus got quiet after a moment. "She really thinks it's wrong to be gay and she's your Mom?"

"Yeah." Brian replied quietly.

"Wow." Gus pushed his pizza around his plate. He was suddenly not very hungry.

"Your Dad and I weren't nearly as lucky as you in the parent department, Gus." Justin took Gus's hand.

"You have two Moms and a Dad…"

"And a Justin." Gus added.

"And me, that love and support you no matter what. They want you to be safe and happy and healthy no matter what. That's a very special thing." Justin gave Gus's hand a small squeeze before turning back to his pizza.

"What about your Dads?" Gus asked them both.

"My Dad died when you were just a baby. You got to spend a little time with him, but you wouldn't remember it. You were very little."

"And my Dad is a lot like Joan. He thinks it's wrong to be gay and isn't part of my life anymore."

"But Nana Jen is?"

Justin smiled. His mother loved when Gus called her that. "Yep, she's great and she adores you."

Gus was confused though. He couldn't see his Nana, who took him to all kinds of PFLAG picnics and GLC art shows, with someone who thought being gay was wrong.

"Was your Dad always like that, Justin?"

"No, Gus. It's a long and complicated story, but things were pretty good until I got to be a teenager and came out. I guess he probably always felt that way, but it was never something that got discussed until I said I was gay. Then things feel apart pretty fast. I haven't seen or talked to him in years."

Gus was quiet for a minute as he digested this new information. Justin was glad for the chance to pull himself back together. Even after so many years it still hurt to think his father could write him off so completely.

"What about your Dad?" Gus looked at Brian, who had been fervently hoping Gus wouldn't ask. Jack and Joan were never his choice of topics.

He sighed a very un-Brian sigh before he answered. "My old man was very unhappy with everything in his life and took it out on everyone around him. We didn't get along at all."

"Did he know you were gay?" Gus asked quietly.

Justin chuckled. Gus was so much like Brian and Mel sometimes. Never one to shy away from the tough questions.

"I didn't tell him until just before he died. He came to see me one night. I was babysitting you actually." Brian smiled at the memory of baby Gus. "He told me he had cancer and there wasn't anything they could do about it. I came out to him a few days later and it didn't go very well. Then a few days after that, he showed up at the loft. You and your Mom were there. He had this picture of me and him when I was a baby and he was acting like it was all okay. It was weird, but we ended up letting him meet you and spend some time with you before he died. He seemed really good with you. In a way I'd never seen him before."

"But your Mom doesn't know about me?"

"No, Sonny Boy, and I don't want her to know about you. She's not a very nice person. You have a lot of other people that love you. You don't need her issues messing things up."

Gus was quiet for a moment. "I think I understand, Dad."

"This is a lot to take in at once. Your Dad doesn't usually talk about his parents. We can talk about it some more later and you can always ask us about anything. You know that, right Gus?" Justin didn't want either of them to freak out over this.

Brian got serious again. "Gus, if Joan comes around or tries to talk to you, I want you to make sure you tell me or your Moms right away."

Gus nodded. Brian thought for a moment and then added, "There is also a woman named Claire. She's my sister. Make sure you let me know if she comes around, too. Okay?"

"I will." They moved on to happier subjects and finished their meal. They still had DVDs to watch and the inevitable pillow fight that came with Gus's bed time.

When they brought Gus back to Mel and Lindsay at the end of their weekend, they filled the girls in on what had happened. Brian extracted promises from both of them that they would call him immediately if anything happened.

On the ride back to the house Justin asked Brian what he really thought Joan would do.

"I have no idea, Sunshine. No idea."

They could only hope that she would stay away. Joan had no idea where their house was, but she could always find Brian at the office. The shouting match at the end of her last (and only) visit was legendary. They were once again thankful for the privacy and quiet that the house provided.

Interestingly, it was Claire who showed up Monday afternoon at Kinnetik. As she had before at his previous offices, she stormed past the office staff, loudly demanding to see Brian.

"Claire, what a surprise." Not. Brian didn't get up from behind his desk, nor did he invite her to sit down.

"Since when don't you live at the loft, Brian? I went there first and some guy coming out of the building told me you don't live there anymore."

"That's none of your business, Claire. Why are you here? Claire?"

She had been so focused on him, she hadn't really taken the time to look around, but she was now. She was studying the unusual combinations that the old building mixed with Brian's fine furnishings provided.

"Claire!"

"What?"

"I asked you what you were doing interrupting my busy day?"

"Oh, Mother came to see me last night. She was very upset."

"And I care why?"

"She said you have a son, Brian." Brian was angry it had come to this, but figured the best defense was a good offense.

"Not that it is any of your business, but I do."

Claire looked shocked. She'd been sure her mother was mistaken or drunk last night.

"But how?"

Brian was getting more irate by the second. "Do I really have to explain the birds and the bees to you?"

"Brian! Why do you always have to be so difficult? I just thought that since…" She trailed off, so Brian finished for her.

"You thought that since I am a fag, I wouldn't ever have kids."

"Well, yeah."

"I hate to break it to you, Claire, but gay doesn't mean the parts don't work the same way, we just stick them in different places. I can still get a woman pregnant, if I choose to." Claire blushed bright red.

"So who is his mother? Where is he? When can I meet him?"

"As I said before, it's none of your business. If I had wanted you or Joan to know about him, you would have already. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."

"But Brian…" Claire tried to talk to him, but he made it obvious he was done talking to her. The moment he was sure she was gone, he was on the phone to Justin and then Lindsay to let them know what had happened.

Over the next few weeks, Claire and Joan made numerous attempts to get more information about Gus. They tried to contact Brian at work. They tried to pry information out of Cynthia. They called Michael and Debbie at Debbie's house. Debbie ranted that in all the years Brian and Michael had been friends Joan had never called her house, but here she was calling all these years after Michael had moved out. Claire dug out her old high school yearbooks and tried calling anyone Brian had dated that was still in the area. That lead to several women contacting Brian wondering why his crazy sister was calling them.

Brian started to suspect there was more to this than just a previously unknown family member, so he decided to pay his mother a visit. Knowing that she would be getting ready for mass, he dropped by at 11:30 one day. He figured she'd be preoccupied with getting to mass on time and more likely to tell him what he wanted to know. She made the predictable noises about wanting to get to know her grandson and the hideously fake noises about how hurt she was the he would keep a grandson from her. What he hadn't counted on was seeing a letter from a lawyer's office on the kitchen counter. There wasn't time for him to read it, but while she got her coat from the hall closet, he was able to read the name and return address. Time to do some digging of his own.

He had Cynthia call and make him an appointment with the lawyer. They were both surprised when it sounded like they were expecting him and the agreed to meet with him the next day. Brian wondered what was up. Something wasn't right and he hated not knowing what it was. Surprises, especially ones that involved his mother or his sister, were never good surprises.

Even as he walked in the lawyer's office the next, Brian still hadn't managed to shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. He was hoping this Mr. Marshall could ease his mind a bit. Surely, Joan and Claire weren't plotting something, were they?

"Mr. Kinney, please come in." The lawyer greeted him warmly and again he got the feeling like he was expected even though he had never met this man before.

"It's Brian. Mr. Kinney always sounds like my father."

The lawyer chuckled. "Well, he is the reason you're here." Brian did a double take. He hadn't expected that at all.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Now it was Marshall's turn to look confused.

"When you called, I assumed you knew about the arrangement and were ready to execute it."

"Arrangement? Execute? Just what the hell is going on here?" Brian was pissed now.

"Let's do this, Mr. Kinney. Brian. Why don't you tell me what brought you here and then I will tell you my side of things and we'll go from there. Okay?"

Brian nodded his agreement.

"A couple of weeks ago, I ran into my mother, Joan Kinney, while I was with my son, Gus. Before that day, she didn't know I had a son. I wanted to keep it that way, but we saw her in a public place and she heard him refer to me as Dad before I could do anything about it. Since then, she and my sister have been harassing me, my staff and my friends, even old girlfriends, trying to find out more information about him. I've instructed everyone that Gus is to be protected from them at all costs, so everyone has been good about not saying anything. After they tried calling girls I used to date, which is pretty funny since I'm gay, I decided to pay my dear mother a visit. I saw a letter from your office in her kitchen. I couldn't see what was in it, but I was able to get the name and address of your firm. I was hoping you could fill in some of the blanks in case she's plotting something against me. She's not particularly gay-friendly. I don't want her to try something stupid."

Mr. Marshall took a minute to process what Brian had said. It wasn't what he was expecting.

"Well, that's certainly interesting. Let me start by telling you that I am not your mother's lawyer."

Brian was surprised again.

"I am your father's lawyer." He was really starting to hate surprises.

"What does my father have to do with anything? He's been dead for years!" Brian rubbed his temples and wondered how many more times Jack was going to come back and haunt him from the grave.

"First things first. What is Gus's full name?"

"My mother wanted to know Gus's name, too? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Trust me for just a moment here, please."

"Fine. Gus Abraham Peterson."

"Perfect. And you are his father." Brian nodded. "Who is his mother?"

Brian sighed with annoyance, but answered. "Lindsay Peterson."

"Excellent. We can proceed then."

"Proceed with what?" Brian was getting angry now.

"As I said, I am your father's lawyer, not your mother's. Not long before he died, he came to me and asked to revise his will. He said he had just found out he had a grandson and he wanted to set up something special for the child, but he wanted the child's identity to be protected from his wife and the other family members. It was a very unusual request, but we were able to find ways to accommodate his wishes. The fact that the child was a minor and did not share his name made it easier, but quite frankly drove your mother and sister nuts. When your father's new will came to light after his death, they were furious." Brian was stunned by the lawyer's revelations and couldn't think of a thing to say.

"I take it you knew nothing about this?" Brian just shook his head.

"What did your mother tell you about your father's estate?"

"Nothing. I just assumed he had nothing left and if he did, it went to her. He'd been borrowing money from me for years. What could he have had?"

"You're right, there wasn't much, but there was the house and his pension benefits, which went to your mother. However, he did have a life insurance policy through the Union based on his annual salary. That did not go to your mother."

"Who did that go to?"

"Gus Peterson." Brian jumped up and began pacing.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

"No, I am not. That's why I needed you to verify his name before we could have this conversation. Your father left very specific instructions that I was not to contact Gus about this matter until he was of age. I could talk to you, but only if you sought me out first."

"My father? Mine? Jack Kinney? Left something in his will for my son." Brian felt like he was stuck in some alternate reality. "Unreal."

"Obviously, my mother and sister know about this?"

"What they know is that your father listed is beneficiary as Gus Peterson. The rest of information is sealed. Honestly, I think that they think that your father sired an illegitimate child and Gus is the child. The letter you saw at your mother's was likely one of several I have sent to her over the years denying her access to the information she has requested. She's been trying for years to find out more about Gus and the special conditions your father set up. I'm surprised she hasn't dragged us to court yet."

"If she thought he had a love child, she wouldn't want anyone else to know about it, that's why. Why haven't I heard about this before?"

"I can't speak to your family matters, but on our part, we had instructions we agreed to with your father. He was very adamant about not revealing Gus's identity until he reached a set age."

"So what now?" Brian still couldn't wrap his head around all of this information. This was so not the Jack Kinney he knew.

"Well, the money from his insurance went into a trust. It's grown to a rather nice sum over the past 9 years. I think you'll be surprised. It can stay where it is, at least for now. And I have something for you. You can take it with you. You need to read it before we discuss any of the other details." Marshall retrieved a large envelope from the file on his desk and handed it to Brian. "Once you've had time to think about this and read what's in there, we can meet again and discuss things further. Just call my secretary whenever you're ready."

They shook hands and Brian headed home. There was no way he was going back to the office now. The envelope in his hands had his father's handwriting on it.

Once he got home, he settled in to his favorite chair. He called Justin who said he would wrap things up at the gallery right away and come home. Brian stared at the envelope for a long time. How silly was he for being afraid to open an envelope? Finally, he talked himself into opening the flap and pulled out the letter inside.

_Sonny Boy,_

_If you're reading this, then I'd dead and I can only hope that my damn lawyer had done what I asked and kept the Warden out of this. You're probably shocked as hell right about now, but I guess that makes us even for the two little "surprises" you dropped on me after I told you about the cancer. I've had a lot of time to think since I got sick. Cancer is a real bitch. Gives you too much time to do nothing but think about what you should have done differently. I think we can both agree that I should have done just about everything differently. _

_My old man was a miserable son of a bitch working stiff, just like me. Worked too much, drank too much. I never did anything in my life to make him proud and he made sure I knew it. I doubt you'd remember him. I never thought anything of my family legacy until your mother started wanting something different from life. Here was another person telling me I wasn't going to amount to anything. I didn't like them for it, but I wasn't happy with myself either. I guess they were both right in the end. I had nothing to show for my life when I died, did I?_

_The thing with you though was that I could always see that you weren't going to follow me down that road. You were always smarter than I was, always more motivated, more determined. Even as a little kid you were different and I could see it. And I hated you for it. You were going to do all of the things I wanted to do, but didn't. My life had passed me by, but you were going to grab yours by the balls._

_You left home right out of high school and that was fine with me. Having you around was like a red flag in my face all the time - taunting me with your successes. Honor roll, awards, trophies, scholarships, fancy jobs. You were going places and I was stuck in suburban hell. I don't need to remind you how well I dealt with that, do I?_

_I resented you for becoming what I wanted to be. I held it against you instead of celebrating it with you. We probably would have had a great time together if I could have seen past my jealousy. I'll never understand why you've helped me as much as you have. I would never have done that for my old man._

_There's a younger kid here at the Hall who's got one of those fancy laptop computers and he's been helping me learn more about you. He looked up your name and printed off a bunch of articles about your career and awards you've won. I knew you'd done good, but this is even more than I thought. I'd love the see the look on my old man's face. I'm proud of what you've accomplished. You didn't get any help from us, but you made a big fucking success out of yourself anyway. _

_The gay thing really threw me for a loop though. I can't say that I'm okay with it. I can't think about what guys do to each other and not cringe, but I did a little investigating on that part of your life, too. I'll bet you won't believe this, but I went down to that Liberty Avenue and asked about you. I stopped by a bar called Woody's and drank a few beers one afternoon. That's the thing about knowing you're going to die soon. Who gives a shit what people think anymore? I'm going to be dead! It's almost fun._

_Some woman named Marilyn (I think her name should have been Marvin though) came up and started talking to me. It was a little weird at first because I just wanted to learn more about you, not get picked up, but this broad seemed to realize that and started talking about how "he isn't here". I guess she fancies herself some kind of psychic or something. Anyway, she told me a lot about you. About how you didn't like people to know it, but you were really a good person and you do a lot for people. She also told me how you run through the men the way I always wanted to run through the women. Love 'em and leave 'em before the sheets get cold! _

_I came out of there realizing that we're more alike than I thought. We both like to party hard and play hard. We're just not playing on the same team. It's tough to accept that, but I'm trying. Your mother though, is never going to accept it. The men, the drinking, the partying, none of it fits into her bible thumping world. You've still got a fight on your hands there._

_Which is why you are reading this letter. You've figured it all out, Brian. You've got a good life. You managed to do all of things I wanted, including having a kid without giving up who you are in the process. You could have knocked me over with a feather when you told me you had a kid. And Gus is so much like you already. I could see it in his eyes. I'm sure you're already doing so, but you need to keep him away from the Warden. She'll do nothing but poison his mind like she has with Claire and her kids. I've told the lawyers to protect Gus and his identity as much as possible until he is an adult. I hope they are doing that._

_Judging from what I've seen, you'll be able to provide for Gus just fine, but I want him to have something from me. I'd leave this to you, but then the Warden would fight you for it and that wouldn't be worth it. You'd end up giving it to her just to be rid of her. So maybe when Gus is older the two of you can take a trip or do something remarkable together and remember me. Change the Kinney legacy a bit._

_Dying is bitch, Brian. I hope you never have to write Gus a letter like this one. Keep that in mind as he grows up._

_Pop_

Brian was still sitting in the chair, too stunned to move, reading the letter over and over, when Justin got home and found him. Brian hadn't realized he had tears in his eyes until Justin gently brushed them away. Brian just handed over the letter. Justin read it and climbed in Brian's lap. They held each other for a long time.

Brian went back and met with Marshall a few days later. He made arrangements for Ted to be kept up to date on the financial side of things and regular updates for himself. He brought copies of his own will and legal documents so that Justin could take his place should anything happen to him before Gus was of age and he asked that things be left the way they were for now. It was still too much for him to process and Gus was still too young. For years he wanted his father's love and respect and never felt he had it. Now, at least it seemed he at least had the respect part, but he felt like he couldn't enjoy it. Why couldn't Jack have told him any of this when he was still alive? When Brian could have enjoyed it? Or at the very least talked to Jack about it?

He still needed to explain this to Gus. He still needed to deal with his mother and his sister, too. He could just hear Claire shrieking about why Jack left his son with something and not her sons. He could just imagine what Joan's reaction was going to be. But he didn't have answers for their questions, so they'd have to wait. Until he could wrap his own mind around this incredible change, he wasn't going to deal with them.

He needed to learn to learn to live with this new version of Jack Kinney first.


End file.
